- ff4-theming aside, my main reaction to the second dungeon is that I really liked the Anima boss battle. But man am I bet at those chasing AoEs XD

I always think they start way earlier than they do, and stop earlier than they do, and you can only take one hit from them (as a whm) and so i died twice to that one attack, oops. Still a really fun battle!

- I'm kind of /shrug about the whole entire moon plot tbh?

As entertaining as he was, I'm kind of glad we've gotten Fandaniel out of the way, and Zodiark as well.

I +really* like that Zodiark was the first trial when he could've easily been the final boss of a differently-written game.

(I could tell you absolutely nothing about trial battle. There was a giant (I think roe) Namazu-headed guy in a silver dress who had clearly done it before and put a mark on his head so everyone could just follow him for mechanics, so I actually learned maybe two of them It was super chaotic and took us three tries.)

But! Things on the moon I did like!

- the wandering spirits. "The Final Days taught us to fear a death forced upon us" sure sounds different after the Blasphemies show up in the plot, even if their equivalent in Amaurot came about slightly differently.

- and "The faintest glimmer of hope remained. We gave our lives that others my live. We gave ourselves to Zodiark." We knew that already of course but having it spelled out again in that moment brings me back to that whole "wading into a freezing pond so that others might keep warm" thing from the previous plurk.

This is the most extreme version of that - burn yourself to keep others warm, and all that. We go very far to keep others from harm, and we've seen others do it time and again (and go to similar lengths, like the au ra kids in the Werlyt plot), but a sacrifice of half the population, even willingly, is clearly also not what we want. Not that far.

- once again, our old friend Hythlodaeus. And not an Emet-created shade this time!

"A slave to sentiment, even after an eternity." He's still so font of Emet-Selch.

- "Cry havov and let slip the dog of war! That's you, by the way."

On day 2, I thought I saw someone fly past me through the Thavnairian skies on a glowing yellow dog but thought I had not seen correctly and that it was probably just one of the ponies or the yellow carbuncle but now I'm wondering if it might not have really been a glowing yellow dog.

- the Loporrits are very, very cute, and while their sidequests are the first ones I've skipped - I haven't even unlocked flight on the moon - I like them a lot, starting the moment you get the option tu hum to Singingway and get berated for your off-key humming.

(I had somehow forgotten that they hummed originally...)

(and remembered the moment I heard it again/got that option)

"Why are you so small? Like little baby carrot people?"

- the description of swooning (or offended) viera in the carrot item description

- the tinybuns trying to lead Urianger down the path of "silence, secrecy and duplicity" for a third time, but this time, we just, like, have a talk about it instead, and it only takes like three quests to do so.

That whole conversation with him was very very good <3

"To dispense with all pretense and bear one's heart to another is a frightening thing indeed."
Indeed.

I also liked "Names are an expression of the self" later on in the scene where he decides to stay and work with the Loorrits on the worst-case-scenario emergency plan that is this whole moon ark.

Puddingway!!

- Moenbryda's answer to the question of what it means to live: "The anticipation of a half-read story's conclusion. The hope that today's mistake may serve as tomorrow's lesson. The wish that a new acquaintance may one day call thee friend."

- it's not, I think, but I keep wishing the cackling voice we heard was Hydaelyn's, but that's mostly because I keep wishing for someone, anyone, to bring up that she is also a Primal, and that there's probably still tempering involved somewhere in our relationship with her, and I want to fight her in some sort of tragic battle.

- and we're finally spelling out the basics of what the Forum is doing so i don't have to groan about that anymore

- and then everything becomes amazing again. or awful, if you're looking at it from an in-universe perspective I guess XD

- I picked the late-night visit from Raha because how could I not, but I eventually want to watch all versions of that scene.

"Let me share your burden." <3

(and also "to the ends of the world and beyond." Wherever we are going next - in a loporrit-made vessel, perhaps? - I want to take him with us ;__; )

- I'm so happy to see Erenville again briefly, hard at work in Ishgard <3

- "Apocalypse" sure is a Weather

- if the dead Blasphemies don't return to the ethereal sea, we'd run out of souls sooner rather than later. And what would a certain soul-seeing Ascian say to that, I wonder?

- bwahaha, finally getting Estinien to accept a mobile phone linkpearl in the face of emergency!

- yes we're investigating tragic events but touring another city with G'raha was still nice

Maybe we can visit Corvos with him before we travel to the ends of the world an beyond.

- poor Khalzahl; I liked him a lot even though he was only in the msq for a little bit

- same with Ahewann

- I loved G'raha bringing back that one guy from the brink of turning into a Blasphemy, then calming himself and putting on his most Crystal "100 years of city-leading experience" Exarch face to calm the people in Radz-at-Han. What a good, good cat. <3

- when you find the dying father, you get two "dialogue" options: "Speak to Qerasaf" and "Dry Qerasaf's tears"
I love that second choice so, so much. The gesture, the physicality of it, the tenderness of it. My heart.

- Matsya is a very good boy

aaaand that's about where I am. Vrtra and Estinien came to the rescue, but I haven't talked to them back at the village yet.

another thought re: the Blasphemies not returning to the aetherial sea and not getting reborn again from there: what's up with that place in the Azim steppe again that the Dotharl go to who want to remove themselves from the circle of reincarnation, huh?

the Lopporrits as comic relief don't land particularly well for me but I do enjoy them generally and I loved the humming (husband keeps cornering me to demand to know what's an FF4 ref)

I have a real weak spot for Puddingway in particular

/flashes back to hours and hours of rainbow pudding grinding in ff4 ds

LOL god

I'm waiting for there to be some kind of Lopporrit achieve called THe End of Suffering which is what you get on steam when you get a rainbow pudding

pfffft

I did it in the ds version, so no achievement for me, and while I still plan to replay the game on steam, I am absolutely not going to farm that pudding again

but I will help Puddingway get the bestest pudding on the planet!! (that is, in fact, the last thing I did in-game before I stopped playing for the day.)

I didn't farm it in the DS version but I was replaying on Steam for Endwalker (didn't quite get there, but will finish this week now that I"m no longer in MSQ fugue)

I may or may not care enough to do the farming

....maybe I can autobattle my way to it while knitting